We’re Rounding Up Auckland’s Best Dumplings

Dive into the mouth-watering flavours of South East Asia in Mulan’s ‘home-style’ Malaysian cuisine from Head Chef James Balakrishnan. If you’re after an intimate casual dinner then the rustic interior provides the perfect atmosphere to explore all Mulan has to offer. Momo’s are a type of steam filled dumpling, just one of many styles our favourite dish can be served as. All the dishes are designed for sharing purposes so you can experience every flavour and spice inside of Mulan restaurant, you wouldn’t want to miss out on their lamb masala momo with roasted sesame and scallion dressing.

Gyoza is a smaller style of dumplings made with thinner dumpling wrappers and more finely chopped ingredients, they can be boiled or steamed but they’re usually fried to attain a crispier texture perfect for dipping. Gyoza Bar’s dumplings are freshly prepared each day, and wrapped up nice and tight on an ordered basis. With bar leaners and bench seats, it’s perfect for a group outing especially with their tapa style of dining. While the shrimp shumai gyoza steals the show, you can’t leave without trying one of Gyoza Bar’s sake cocktails, if you love a classic espresso martini’s then the Samurai Espresso is a close competitor. 

Serving both lunch and dinner Big Fish Eatery is available for all of your dumpling needs, and with their ocean inspired interior it would be wrong to miss out on their prawn and pork scotch dumplings. Big Fish Eatery promotes a modern take on traditional Pan Asian cuisine, ranging across technique to bold flavours and fresh produce. And for our vegetarians look no further, the tofu dumplings burst with flavour, using glass noodles, spring onions, shitake, Chinese chives, and so much more goodness. There’s no going back once you have introduced your palette to Big Fish eatery.

Sitting pretty on the Viaduct, with the deck providing a stunning view of Auckland harbour is White + Wong’s restaurant, they intertwine style and spice to create an ‘east meets west’ menu. They have taken inspiration from an abundance of street foods from all around Asian including places like; China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, all coming together to make an unforgettable dining experience. Their indulgent dumplings include ingredients such as Wagyu beef, shiitake mushrooms, and juicy prawns all wrapped up tightly within a cumin shumai or crystal skin dumpling wrapper. Delish!

Madam Woo transports you to a red-lanterned haven, filled with exotic traditional flavours with a modern twist. They encourage a communal style of dining, so you don’t miss out on any of their delicious dishes like their prawn dumplings. But trust us – they are so good you might not want to share, so practice your chop stick skills so you can secure the last piece on the plate. The Malaysian-inspired street eats also offers a range of cocktails including traditional Asian flavours to continue your journey into their culture.

Located on Dominion Road is an abundance of fast, delicious Asian restaurants, from noodle boxes to bubble tea shops and, of course, dumplings. Barilla Dumpling may not look extravagant but they make up for it in their food, it really is dumpling heaven. Offering portions of 20 dumplings, cooked however you want and at a super affordable price, it’s no surprise they made it on this list. And what you can’t finish at the table you can pack up and take home for a midnight snack. Make sure to try their pork and chive dumplings and lather them up in soy sauce.